Raven's Birthday Cake

Raven's birthday cake went from chocolate cake with butter cream to a banana cake with peanut butter-butter cream icing and then to a cake with 2 chocolate layers and 2 vanilla layers with butter cream. Can you tell Raven is my daughter??? I hate making decisions and so does she. I cannot believe it was 15 years ago tonight, 8:11 to be exact, that little Raven was born. She will be my baby forever but my is she growing up. Her 15th birthday cake is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek today. Actually I baked it yesterday and iced it today.

Cabbage Rolls

I had some cabbage left from making kraut and wondered what to do with it. Cabbage rolls sounded good so that is what I made. It was a hot and humid day so it was a little warm with the oven on but the cabbage rolls were enjoyed by all. I know my grandmother cooked every night without air conditioning and I cannot imagine how hot she was. I get so hot cooking with the air conditioning that I don't think I would be cooking much without it. That being said, you cannot grill every night. I used cabbage from the garden and I think it really tasted great. I am a big cabbage fan but fresh from the garden really is better than store bought. But of course use what you have. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek

Needed:
2 heads of cabbage
3 pounds ground round
2 cans tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
4 cloves garlic-minced
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 cups of cooked rice
2 eggs

Core cabbage and place in a large soup pot with 2 inches of water in the bottom. Cover and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, remove from pot and let cool completely. Now mix together the following ingredients, ground round, eggs, rice, 1 can tomato sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic, mix very well with your hands. Separate the cooled cabbage leaves and fill with about 1/4 cup of meat filling and roll ends in and roll as you would a burrito. Now pour the other can of tomato sauce in the bottom of a roasting and place cabbage roll in pan. Once pan is filled pour diced tomatoes over the top of rolls and cover with either a lid or parchment lined foil. Cook at 350' for 1 hour.

Oven "Fried" Chicken

This is my husband's favorite way to eat chicken. The way I make this "fried" chicken is to really season the crumb mixture. I hope you give this a try before it is too hot turn on your oven. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek.

Needed:
4 cups cornflakes-crushed
2 T garlic powder
1 T cayenne pepper
2 T salt
2 T pepper
1 whole chicken-cut up

Mix together cornflakes, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper in a large Ziploc bag. Once mixed well add one piece of chicken at a time to the bag and shake. Bake chicken on a parchment lined baking sheet at 425 for 35 minutes.

Okie Steak AKA BBQ Baloney

Nothing is better with potato salad than Okie Steak. Give it a try instead of hamburgers the next time you grill. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek tonight. Better get it done quick because the summer thunderstorms are brewing.

5 pound stick of baloney-sliced 1/2 inch thick
Grill
Barbecue sauce of your choice.

Grill on each side then slather with sauce. Place "steak" between hamburger buns and eat!!

Ransome's Birthday Cake

Ransome decided he wanted a guitar cake this year and I thought to myself, how hard can that be??? Well let me tell you finding the pan was the easy part of this cake and it was not all that easy. After the cake pan was found, the flavor was picked and said flavor was baked into a guitar shape so the real work could begin. See I don't know a guitar set up from a radio set up, see the problem?? Thank goodness Sean and Raven were here to assist me. My hand is still sore from all of the squeezing and my mind is sore from thinking. I hope you think this cake is as cute as Ransome did on his big day. Cannot believe he is 8!! Time sure does fly. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek tonight.

Pickled Beets

I really love pickled beets, I can eat a whole jar in one setting if I don't watch myself. If you have never tried pickled beets you are missing out. This recipe is so simple you must give it a try even if you have never canned anything before. This winter you will not believe how good home canned food tastes! I love to open a jar of something I have canned from my garden in the winter, brings a little Spring back to Beaty's Creek. This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek today.





50 beets
2 cups beet boiling water
2 cups white vinegar
2 cups sugar
2 t cinnamon

Remove beet greens and save to use later. Wash beets very well and place in pot covered with water. Bring beets to a boil and boil for 20 minutes or until fork tender. My beets were not real large, (I like small beets for pickles) so they cooked for about 15 minutes, size matters on how long your beets will cook. Once boiled let beets cool and then remove beets skin. Remember to wear gloves or you will have purple hands. Now get your jars ready to go, I use pint jars for pickled beets, I like the smaller jars for pickles but you can use quart jars if you wish. Prepare your jars as you would for canning anything. Once ready pack with your beets. Now bring beet water, vinegar, sugar, and cinnamon to a boil and pour over beets in jars and seal with a flat and ring. You will process beets in a hot water bath for 12 minutes. Let pickled beets sit for a couple of weeks before you eat them.

Rub

This is my rub recipe for most meats before smoking.


2 cups brown sugar
1 cup chili powder
1/4 cup cayenne pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 black pepper

Mix very well. That is it.